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Plebgate meeting cops apology

West Midlands Police officers have said that they "did not plan to mislead anyone" over a meeting they held with Andrew Mitchell over claims he abused police. They also apologised for talking to the media after the meeting.

West Midlands Commissioner demands IPCC apology

An e-mail to police chiefs from Deborah Glass, of the IPCC, said a police investigation into a meeting between police officers and Andrew Mitchell, initially concluded the Police Federation representatives had a case to answer for misconduct but later reversed its decision.

Bob Jones, PCC for West Midlands, one of the forces entangled in the affair, said her e-mail effectively suggests senior officers interfered with the report and has demanded an explanation from IPCC chairwoman Dame Anne Owers.

In a letter to Dame Anne, Mr Jones said he has received assurances from his chief constable that West Midlands Police only received one copy of the report, although it is West Mercia Police, a neighbouring force, that was responsible for the internal inquiry.

If I was to make an analogy with the criminal justice process, the press release is akin to a police officer commenting after a trial that the accused was, despite being acquitted, guilty as hell.